Hornets beaten at the death by Workington

Rochdale Hornets suffered heartbreak at the death as Workington Town clinched a last gasp 29-28 victory at the Crown Oil Arena.

Hornets led 22-8 at the break after an immaculate first half performance saw tries from Jack Arnold, Lewis Else (x2) and Dan Nixon.

Despite Nixon adding his second of the match after the restart, Workington scored three tries and a last minute field goal to steal the two points.

Head coach Gary Thornton called for a response after his side's Good Friday defeat at Oldham, and it took five minutes for Rochdale to open the scoring when Dave Hewitt set up Arnold to steam through. Hewitt added the extra two from the tee. 6-0.

The visitors responded quickly with a try of their own when Jordan Thomson forced his way over in the corner. Con missed. 6-4, 13 minutes.

Rochdale regained the lead when Else produced a moment of magic to weave his way through the Workington defence before accelerating clear over the line. Con missed. 10-4, 19 minutes.

Both sides were reduced to 12-men when Will Tilleke – on-loan from Widnes Vikings – and Workington’s Steven Scholey were shown yellow cards after the Town forward reacted angrily to a late-hit which sparked a coming together between the teams.

Rochdale extended their lead just before the hour when on the final tackle, Nixon beat Town’s fullback in the air to excellently claim the ball and dive over for his first try of the season. Hewitt made no mistake this time from the tee. 16-4, 28 minutes.

Hornets were flying and added their fourth try of the half when Else squeezed through to ground the ball. Hewitt was successful in adding the two. 22-4, 32 minutes.  

Tilleke was sent to the bin once more five minutes before the interval, and Workington took advantage of the extra man when when Earl Hurst barged over. Con missed. 22-8, 37 minutes.

Half time: Rochdale Hornets 22-8 Workington Town

The Cumbrian side started the second half strongly and they reduced the score to two points after scoring twice in four minutes. First Ethan Bickerdike crossed five minutes after the restart, before Matty Henson dived over after a neat passage of play. Both cons scored. 22-20, 50 minutes.

Workington levelled the contest on the hour after opting to take two points from the tee, and they led for the first time when Ciaran Walker converted his own try two minutes later. 22-28, 62 minutes. 

A tense affair unfolded at the Crown Oil Arena, with Hornets chasing the game. Thornton’s side levelled when Nixon broke clear down the wing before diving over in the corner to score his second of the match. Hewitt fantastically added the touchline goal. 28-28, 68 minutes.

As the clock ticked down, the home and away supporters could be heard getting behind their sides. Ben Forster almost won the match for Hornets after breaking free from 20m out, but Workington scrambled in defence to keep him out.

Both sides then failed with field goal attempts. First Hewitt saw his effort charged down, before Walker’s kick spun narrowly wide of the right-hand post with less than five minutes left.

After a Hornets error gifted Workington possession 40m out, Town worked their way through the tackles before the ball was sent back to Jack Mallinson who made no mistake with his field goal to steal the two points.

Full time: Rochdale Hornets 28-29 Workington Town

Rochdale starting line-up: Tyrer, Clarke, Senior, O’Keefe, Nixon, Else, Hewitt, Arnold, Roden, Peachey, Brewin, Forster, Ratcliffe

Interchanges: Berry, Brannan, Jones, Tilleke. 18^th man: Killan

Tries: Arnold, Else (x2), Nixon (x2)

Goals: Hewitt 4/5 

Man of the match - chosen by the main matchday sponsor William James Recruitment: Aiden Roden